HEW Action and Discrimination at Columbia, 1971, page 1

HEW ACTION AND DISCRIMINATION AT COLUMBIA
Feb. 22, 1971 Columbia women's Liberation meets with an investigating team
from HEW. HEW is presented with a report on sex discrimination
Nov. 4, 1971 President McGill receives a twelve page letter from HEW rejecting
the University's Equal Employment plan as inadequate and threatening to
cut off all federal funds for non-compliance.
Nov. 5, 1971 President McGill tells the University Senate that "Columbia soes
not discriminate."..."We do not discriminate in the employment
of any personel”
Nov. 15, 1971 President McGill appoints two Committees
12 Member Faculty Committee to submit recommendations within
three weeks on how the University can imporve its policies on the
status, appointment and p omotion of minority faculty members.
ll Member-faculty and student commisiion to study the status
of women at Columbia and submit recommendations by May to the
President.
Nov. 17, 1971 At President McGill's Request, members of the Sex Discrimination
Committee of Women's Liberation met with him and expressed their
dismay that there is no democratically elected committee
representing all constituencies of women on campus set up to
come up with an affirmative action plan for women. ( According
to HEW guidelines, gaals timetables and affirmative action plans
for minorities and women are to be com pletely separate.
President McGill refused our demand for such a committee
We feel that an independent elected committee to formulate demands, goals and
timetables to resolve sex discrimination at Columbia must be formed in order
to end sex discrimination, in order to draw up a plan which will be acceptable
to HEW (the first plan submitted by the Columbia administration was rejected) and
in in order to draw up a plan which will be acceptable to the women on this campus.
Women from Columbia Women's Liberation will be aart of such a comittee, but it
must be broadly representative of all constituencies of women at Columbia.
We urge all women to support our demand, sign our petitions to McGill and come
to the following constituenc V meetings:
WED, NOV. 24 NOON ALL FEMALE SUPPORTING STAFF EARL HALL, SHIFF ROOM
WED., NOV. 24 NOON SECOND MEETING FEMALE FACULTY EARL HALL, DODGE ROOM
GENERAL MEETINGS ARE BEING PLANNED FOR ALL CONSTITUENCIES.
COMITTEE ON SEX DISCRIMINATION RM. ]Ol Earl Hall 280-2174